Terrace of collapsed Mallorca bar had no permit, says mayor

The terrace of a restaurant in Majorca which collapsed last Thursday, killing four people, did not have an operating permit.

Palma de Mallorca Mayor Jaime Martínez said on Tuesday that the first floor terrace was not permitted for any activity or use.

Four people died and 16 were injured in the incident at Medusa Beach Club.

Police said the deck collapsed due to “excessive weight” placed on it.

Mr Martínez said the property failed a technical building inspection last year, according to local media.

“The basement had a license to operate as a music bar, the ground floor had a restaurant license but the first floor was not allowed for any activities nor was it allowed to use the terrace” , declared the mayor.

City firefighters estimated that about 21 people were on the patio at the time of the collapse.

Eder Garcia, the fire chief, said the restaurant set up a larger table for a group of tourists that evening instead of spreading out its tables on the patio as usual, which they said could be at the origin of the collapse.

“There shouldn’t have been anyone up there,” he added.

The collapse occurred around 8:30 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. GMT) on Thursday.

Local media reported that the terrace was partially renovated in 2013 without the proper permissions from the town hall.

Spanish newspaper El País said the owners of the premises were fined €4,500 (£3,830) for the violation in 2020.

The municipality now intends to evaluate the resistance of the construction materials used for the terrace, based on tests carried out on debris taken from the site.

Mr. Martínez said preliminary investigations confirmed the police’s earlier statement that the terrace collapsed because there were a large number of people there at the time.

The mayor added that several reports, prepared by the municipal council, had been sent to the police and the public prosecutor’s office. He added that the city council would participate in any future lawsuits regarding the collapse.

A firefighter described the scene as “nightmarish” on Thursday, according to local newspaper Ultima Hora.

He added that when his team arrived, people were crying and screaming as they stood around the rubble on the ground.

Eyewitnesses recalled hearing a loud noise, which sounded like an explosion, at the time of the incident.

The victims were a 23-year-old Spanish woman who worked at the bar, two German women aged 20 and 30, and a 44-year-old Senegalese man, believed to be Abdoulaye Diop, who made national headlines in 2017 for saving a man who was was debating in the waters off the coast of Majorca.

Only one of the 16 people injured remains hospitalized, authorities said.

Medusa Beach Club is one of dozens of bars, restaurants and hotels located just off Playa de Palma, a long beach extending eastward from the city of Palma, that cater to tourists staying in the area .

Mallorca is the largest of the Spanish Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean.

Last year, more than 17 million people visited the islands.